Activities
From cycling to skating, surfing to swimming, there's plenty to keep you active in the Bavarian capital. Munich is one of the world's top cities for cyclists with cycle paths crisscrossing the centre. The Olympic park is packed with opportunities and the English Garden is the place to simply pull on a pair of trainers and run.
Boating
A lovely spot to take your sweetheart for a spin is on the Kleinhesseloher See in the Englischer Garten. Rowing or pedal boats cost around €8 per half-hour for up to four people. Boats may also be hired at the Olympiapark.
Cycling
Munich is an excellent place for cycling, particularly along the Isar River. Some 1200km of cycle paths within the city limits make it one of Europe's friendliest places for two-wheelers.
No Wave Goodbye
Possibly the last sport you might expect to see being practised in Munich is surfing, but go to the southern tip of the Englischer Garten at Prinzregentenstrasse and you'll see scores of people leaning over a bridge to cheer on wetsuit-clad daredevils as they hang 10 on an artificially created wave in the Eisbach. It's only a single wave, but it's a damn fine one. A decade ago park authorities attempted to ban this watery entertainment, but a successful campaign by surfers saw plans to turn the wave off shelved.
To find out more about Munich's urban surfers, see www.eisbachwelle.de.
Skating
Iceskaters can glide alongside future medallists in the Olympia-Eissportzentrum, hit the frozen canals in Nymphenburg (free) or twirl around at the Münchner Eiszauber ice rink on Karlsplatz.
Swimming
Bathing in the Isar River isn't advisable, due to strong and unpredictable currents (especially in the Englischer Garten), though many locals do. Better to head out of town to one of the many nearby swimming lakes, including the popular Feringasee (by car, take the S8 to Unterföhring, then follow signs), where the party never stops on hot summer days; the pretty Feldmochinger See, which is framed by gentle mounds and has a special area for wheelchair-bound bathers (by car, take the S1 to Feldmoching); and the Unterföhringer See (Poschinger Weiher), which has warm water and is easily reached by bicycle via the Isarradweg cycling path or via the S8 to Unterföhring.
The best public-swimming-pool options, both indoors, are the Olympia Schwimmhalle, where Mark Spitz famously won seven gold medals in 1972, and the spectacular Müller'sches Volksbad, where you can swim in art nouveau splendour.